Automatic feeder for elevators



S. OLSON AUTOMATIC FEEDER FOR ELEVATORS Filed Dec. 10 1919 PinteritedOct. 2, 1923.

UNITED ST TES PATENT OFFICE.

BAMUEL OLSON, OF OHI CAGO, ILIIINOIS, ASSIGNOR 'IO SAMUEL OLSON 8:COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC FEEDER FOR ELEVATORS.

Application filed December 10, 1919. Serial humane.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that'I, SAMUEL OLSON, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Feedersfor Elevators, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had to the accompanving drawings, forming a part thereof.

T e purpose of this invention is to provide means for temporarilyarresting the movement of cars, packages, carriers, or the like, over orupon a track or conveyer so as to regulate or control the delivery ofsuch units as in the case of their transfer to another conveyer or anelevator. The invention is illustrated as associated with a horizontalconveyer feeding a continuously traveling elevator, and it consists ofthe features and elements and their combinations hereinafter describedand shown in the drawings, as indicatedby the claims. T

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of the horizontal conveyer anda portion of the vertical conveyer or elevator with which the feedcontrol mechanism is associated.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken as inicated at line, 2-2, on Figure1.

Figure 3 is a diagrammaticside elevation of the horizontal conveyer beltand certain trays illustrating a position of the trays next succeedingthat indicated in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view similar to Figure 3 and showing aposition of the trays next succeeding that illustrated therein.

The elevator chosen for purposes of illustration is shown as comprisingthe parallel vertically-traveling chains, 1, which are connected inpairs b' the flights, 2, composed of short sections 0 angle rail,theflights of one pair of chains being arranged to register with those ofthe other pair for cooperating sill to support load-carrying trays suchas that indicated at 3 in Figure 2. The chains, 1, are shown passingaround loot wheels in the form of sprockets, l, on shafts, 5, andrunning horizontally between the two airs of chams is a conveyer belt,6, designe to feed the trays to the elevator. lt travels in a guidewaycomposed of lateral guide rails, 7, adapted to centrally locate thetrays on the belt, 6.

The belt, 6, is made of such a width that there is a slight spacebetween each of its edges and the adjacent guide rail, 7, and forcontrolling the travel of the trays along said belt, 6, and theirdelivery to the elevator there are provided three sets of stops, 8, 9and 10, respectively, adapted to be protruded upwardly through thespaces between the belt edges and the guides, 7, for engaging the trayson the belt and arresting their movement while the belt continues torun" obstructed, it ofiers no embarrassment to the operation when apositive stop is interposed in the path of the trays for temporarilyarresting them.

As shown in the drawings, each of the stops, 8, 9 and 10, consists of apin or post up-standing from an arm, 11, which is loosely tulcrumed upona rod, 12, extending throughout the distance along which the three setsof stops are distributed and supported at its ends on transverse framemembers, 13 and 14. The two stop pins of each pair are disposed in thesame transverse line perpendicular to the direction of travel of thebelt, 6, and to secure this efiect the en larged end portions of thearms, 11, which engage the rod, 12, may be oppositely ofiset from thistransverse line, either by bending or by halving them. Each pair ofsteps is positioned longitudinally as desired, by means of stop collars,15, secured by set screws to the rod, 12, as shown.

' For actuating the stops, 8, 9 and 10, a pair of cam shafts, 16, arejournaled to extend parallel to the belt, 6, and below the free ends ofthe arms, ll, each shaft carrying three cams, 17 and the arms, 11, beingprovided with to lower rollers, 18, enga ing the peripheral faces of thesaid cams. s a matter of. convenience, since the shafts, 5, ot the footwheels or sprockets, 4i, are continu ously operating in oppositedirections and at til s in a radial shoulder, 17, connectin all equal seeds, the-c shaftal't, may be driven rom said shafts, 5, by, gears, itand 20 as indicated in thev drawings.

l3ach of the came, 17, has a circular out line for a proximately 240degrees, and of such a re msthat so long as the follower roller, 18, ofthe arm, ll, is supported 9n the circular outline ofthe cam, the stop inthe a will be upheld in the ath of}: e trays carried by the belt, 6, andin position to arrest such trays." n I v v This circular outlinetermmates abrupt;

W1 a portion of the cam surface of consi erably smaller radius so as toabruptly drop the stoppin out of the path of the trays and below theplane of the belt, 6, to permit a trayto be rictionally carried forwardpast the position of the sto The speed of the belt, 6, is so arrange inrelation to the rotar speed of the cam, 17, that the tray will avepassed over the stop before the cam has turned as" much as 120 degreespast the operative position of the abrupt shoulder, l7,'and within this120 degrees the cam is shaped for rather promptly raising the step intoposition tor again arresting a tray on the belt, 6. g

The three cams, 17, on each of the shafts, it, are set with their abruptshoulders, 17, respectively 120 degrees apart, so that the stops,8, 9and 10, will be caused or permitted to withdraw from the path of thetrays on the belt, 6, at intervals of one-third revolution of the shaft,18. The efiect of this arrangement upon the travel of the trays isdiagrammatically illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4. A tray comingalong on the belt, 6, will first encounter the stops, 8, it they happento be at the upper position when the tray arrives at that oint, in whichcase the tray will be arrests by the stops. When the two stops, 8, arewithdrawn by the operation of the cams, 17, the tray will be advancedinto engagement with the stops, 9, and similarly when these steps arewithdrawn the tray will again advance, this time to be arrested by thestops, 10. Then upon withdrawal of the stops 10, the tray will advanceto the position illustrated in Figure 1 at 21 from which it will becarried between the elevator chains, 1, arriving at substantially thecorrect instant to be picked up by the flights, 2, and thus entirelydisengaged from the belt, 6. However, a stop bar, 24:, may be providedto arrest the travel of the tray it it should arrive before the flights,2,'have reached the level of the belt, 6.

Preferably the order of withdrawal of the stops is l09--8, and with thisarrangement it will be evident that after the stops, 9, are lowered topermit advance of the tray,

' 21, up to the stops, 10, and before the stops,

10, have withdrawn to permit further advance of the tray, 21, the stops,8, will be u,: {I 7 t eater) lowered and will ait a secondjtray, 22, Y

which will proceed up to the; stops, 9, as indicated in dotted lines inFire 1.

toward the stops, it), as indicated in Figure 3, a third tray, 23,aniving in the meantime at the stops, '8. Next, the stops, 8, will belowered to edit the tray, 23, to a more advanced-position limited by thestops, 9, and the cycle will be repeated by withdrawal of the stops, 10,admitting the tray, 22, to the elevator, as in the case of the tray, 21already described.

lit will be understood that additional trays arriving behind the tray,23, or any tray in engagement with the stop, 8, will be arrested byengagement with that tray itself, and further, that where the traysemployed areiormed as shown in the drawings with a beaded edge andsomewhat flaring flange, the distance between the stops, 8, and thestops, 9', being substantially equal to the length of one of such trays,there will be a space formed between the flaring flanges of any twotrays which may travel forward together upon the lowering of the stops,8, and this space will permit the said stops, 8, to be raised behind theforward tray which has advanced tothe stop, 9, and in front of the nexttray to prevent further advance of it until the next lowering of thestops, 8. This feature of construction of the trays as shown, or anyother corresponding feature of the carrier unit which necessarily formsa small space between successive unitsin contact with each other on thebelt, 6, permits the load carriers or trays to be separated. from eachother and delivered at regular intervals regardless of how closely theyaccumulate on the belt, 6, back of the first set of stops, 8.

@n the other hand when the belt, 6, is not crowded it may happen that a.tray will ar- Now. after the stops, 10, have been ressed and Mill lld

rive at the stops, 8, while they are still dethe provision of three setsof stops takes care of this situation with greater certainty than ifbuttwo sets of alternating stops were provided,and insures that the traywill be taken into complete control by the stop system at a safedistance from the point of final delivery.

I claim 1. In combination with a guidewa for packages, means for spacingmid pacges at regular interyals comprisin a series of three stopsdistributed longitud inally of the 1, ,sae

fuideway at intervals not less than the ength of a package and eachmounted for movement independently of the others, to gether with meansfor moving said stops in predetermined relation to each other.

2.'In combination with a guideway for packages propelled therealong by acontinuously acting force, means for spacing said packages at regularintervals comprising a series of three stops distributed longitudinallyof the guideway at intervals not lem than the length of a package,together with means arranged for causing each a cam shaft extendinglongitudinally of the guideway with three camsthereon distributed atintervals to register with the stops respectively for actuating them. if

d. In the combination defined in claim 1, the said means for moving saidstops including a cam shaft with three cams thereon, each formed toco-operate with one of the stops, each cam having a part adapted to holdits stop in position'for arresting packages during part of therevolution of the cam shaft, and another portion adapted to cause orpermitsudden withdrawal of the stop from arresting position, said camsbeing relativel arranged son the shaft to cause or permit withdrawal ofonly one stop at a time.

5. In the combination defined in claim 1,

a the said means for moving said stops including a cam shaft with threecams thereon, each formed to co-operate with one of the stops, each camhaving a part adapted to hold its stop in position for arresting pack--ages during part of the revolution of the cam shaft, and another portionadapted to cause or permit sudden withdrawal of the stop from arrestingposition, said cams being relatively arranged on the shaft to cause orpermit withdrawal'of only one stop at a time, and each cam having aportion adapt- Y ed to return the withdrawn stop to arresting positionbefore withdrawal of another stop,

6. In combination with a conveyor comprising a horizontally travelingbelt; load carriers supported thereon and frictionally engagin said beltbut laterally overhanging it; gui e rails laterally spaced from the,

edges of the belt but positioned to center said carriers thereon, andone or more pairs of controlling stops disposed in the aces between theedges of the belt and the guide the stops of each pair being disposed inthe same line perpendicular to the direction of belt travel, and eachpair of stops being spaced from the adjacent pair by-a distance not lessthan the length of a package, together with means for moving said stopsin predetermined relation to each other comprising a pair of cam shaftsextending longitudinally of the belt, with cams thereon associated withthe respective stops and means for rotating the shafts together forsimultaneously actuating the stops of each pair.

8. In the combination defined in claim 7, a rod extending longitudinallyof the belt at the middle of its width, ith arms fulcrumed thereon inpairs, the arms of each pair extending laterally in opposite directionsand carrying the transversely aligned stops and said cam shaftsextending paral- 'lel to the fulcrum axis at opposite sides thereof. forregistration of their cams with the respective stop-carrying arms foractuating them.

9. In the combination defined in claim I, a rod extending lon 'tudinallyof the belt at the middle of its width with arms fulcrumed thereon inpairs, the arms of each pair extending laterally in opposite directionsand of November, 1919. v

SAMUEL OLSON.

